TV REVIEW: X-Men (4.4) – Sanctuary Part II

First Things First…

Part I of this arc grabbed the mantle as my favorite episode of the series. Now, I don’t expect Part II to quite live up to that. The multipart arcs in this series often finish weaker than they started. But I hope it’s in the ballpark. I love the questions Magneto’s plan raised about the morality, ethics, and politics of a mutant-only colony in space. But now it’s time for action, and likely, for Magneto to team up with the X-Men to take down Cortez.

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3 Things I Like

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3. True Savior

“You were saved from the asteroid because your talents will prove useful to me very soon.”

Apocalypse

I love everything Apocalypse does.

I have no idea how or why he saves Cortez. I have no idea if he knew who Cortez was already. I have no idea how he even knew what happened on Asteroid M.

None of that matters.

It doesn’t even matter that I soured on Cortez in Part II. Apocalypse makes everything better.

2. Crazy Kids in Love

Gambit can be a creep…

But here’s an example of how much he and Rogue mean to one another. She’s distraught when he’s not on the return shuttle with Professor X, Beast, and the astronauts. When she rips the door off the shuttle after the crash, she couldn’t care less about her other friends on board, or the humans. She’s just calling for Gambit.

 Their playful banter resumes as soon as they reunite on Asteroid M. But it can’t hide how real their feelings for each other are.

1. Amelia Steps Up, Then Peaces Out

“Reckless fool! The world would have left us alone.”

Amelia Voght

When we met Amelia in Part I, we were told that she hates being a mutant and wanted to live as a human. That’s why Beast was shocked to see her join a mutant-only community. The way I made sense of it was that maybe it’s not being a mutant she hates—it’s being “other.”

That’s why coming to Asteroid M made sense to her. There, her mutanthood would be normal.

But now that Cortez has supplanted Magneto and is about to start a war with humankind, she knows they won’t just be left alone. Which means she can’t just be a “normal” mutant among nothing but other mutants.

 All that is to say it makes sense that she’d be trying to find out what’s really happening on Asteroid M. She can’t be happy with Cortez as their new leader. His vision is contrary to what Magneto promised. So I’m on board with her being one of the main reasons Cortez’s treachery is found out.

Once back on Earth, I also like that she refuses the Professor’s offer of rejoining him and the team, and working toward his peaceful vision. She says she just followed another man’s vision and it turned out horribly. She’s ready to find a vision of her own. I’ve got to applaud her for taking agency of her own life, and not leaving its direction in the hands of others.

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0 Things I’m Mixed On

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4 Things I Don’t Like

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4. New Threads

I don’t give a shit that they’re wearing new uniforms. They’re actually kinda nice. But why? And why doesn’t anyone say anything about them?

Looking at what Professor X and Beast wear on their return to Asteroid M, I thought maybe they’re for space travel. But that doesn’t explain the weird head equipment the Professor is wearing. It also doesn’t explain why Wolverine is dressed like Hawkeye, or why Rogue has a new uniform, too.

This is clearly a nitpick, and unimportant to the story. It’s just weird to make such a glaring cosmetic change and then not acknowledge it.

3. Funeral First, Then We Rescue Our Friend

I know it’s quick, but come on… Gambit is still up there being tortured in outer space by a maniac… and you’re stopping to give Magneto a memorial service?

It can’t wait until after you rescue your teammate and friend who just sacrificed himself so you guys could escape?

When they return to Earth, and Rogue is chomping at the bit to get back up there and rescue Gambit, Beast says they have to make some adjustments to the Blackbird’s engines so it can launch into orbit.

I get that.

And Xavier says he has to speak to the President so they can inform world leaders about the danger Cortez presents.

I get that, too.

But then stopping to eulogize your friend—when you even say Magneto wouldn’t want a memorial—is pretty inconsiderate to the hero being held prisoner and tortured.

2. Magneto’s Healing

“The Earth’s magnetic field has healed me, as a mother nourishes her son.”

Magneto

We watch Magneto fade away into nothing. Xavier feels his presence cease. There’s not even a body to bury.

It’s just as Cortez said it would be in Part I. With Magneto’s powers gone, he’s so weak he can’t even hold his molecules together.

Yet somehow, his… essence, I guess… returns to Earth and is healed by the magnetic field?

And not just healed, but instantly returned to full power.

Look, I don’t want to see Magneto killed off. I’m thrilled he’s back in the show after being gone for a full season. But this sounds like a bunch of nonsense.

1. Cartoonish Cortez

“Now the humans will fear us! Destiny has delivered unto you a new leader!”

Fabian Cortez

Cortez started as a compelling villain. He was a villain with a point of view—not unlike Magneto.

But now, he’s already become very one-note. He’s just a war-mongerer, bent on world domination.

One of his underlings says something is wrong with Cortez, and he wasn’t like this on Genosha. Well, the Cortez on Genosha, and the one we met in Part I, was much more interesting than this maniac.